


As the End Draws Near

by muses_circle, xtremeroswellian



Series: Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala [22]
Category: Smallville, Supernatural
Genre: All Hands on Deck, Bad omens, Blood moon, F/M, Fingering, Ill-timed humor, Impromptu marriage proposals, Motivational Speeches, Natural Disasters, Rain of toads, Shared Dreams, So many bad omens, Superheroes, Vaginal Sex, apocalypse time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:28:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muses_circle/pseuds/muses_circle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Sam Winchester, Chloe Sullivan & Sarah Blake, Chloe Sullivan/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Oliver Queen/Jo Harvelle, Sarah Blake/Sam Winchester
Series: Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722754
Kudos: 1





	As the End Draws Near

The air was still, but heavy with a dark sense of foreboding and Chloe could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she stood beside Dean on the hill overlooking the cemetery. Her stomach tightened with anxiety, the breath catching in her throat as she watched the gates of hell open before her.

Sam clutched a flask of holy water in his hand, sweat dripping down his forehead as he saw the unthinkable happening. He swallowed hard and glanced at his brother. His face was stony and set, as was Chloe’s. They were ready for this, and he was grateful Sarah was, for the moment, out of the way. Especially when the demon with his catlike yellow eyes, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and set his gaze on him.

"Come on," Dean grumbled under his breath and felt the cool steel of the Colt on his back. It was their moment: they had Hell to contend with, but they would get through this. They had to.

Sam lifted his chin a little, staring hard at the Yellow Eyed Demon, his body tense and ready for a fight. He reached out briefly and touched Sarah's arm, then glanced to his left to see the members of the Justice League looking more than a tad horrified at what was happening.

"What the hell is that?" A.C. whispered, clearly alarmed at the large group of what looked like people heading their way.

"Uh, that'd be Hell, apparently," Oliver replied, never taking his eyes off the humans who moved towards them. Humans with dead eyes. Lex's mutant army.

"We are so screwed," Chloe said inaudibly.

&&&&&

**Three days earlier...**

The afternoon seemed dark, even by normal late October standards. Dean had glanced at the clock and noted it was only 3PM. "Hey, anyone notice how it's dark when it shouldn't be?" he asked loudly to anyone who could hear him from Missouri's living room.

Sam slowly looked up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table at his laptop. He blinked as he glanced toward the window. "Storm?" he guessed uncertainly. 

"I don't think so," Chloe murmured, shivering involuntarily as she stepped out onto Missouri's porch.

Dean bolted out of his chair, put the newly cleaned Colt into the waistband of his jeans, and followed her. He nearly ran into her, too, when he walked out the front porch to find her just on the other side, a look of horror on her face. He started to ask what was wrong, but that was when he saw it: a pale red gleam that colored everything around them. "What the --?"

"Look at the moon," she whispered, her voice choked as she reached out to grab his arm.

Following her horrified gaze, he looked into the sky. Crap. There was no mistaking the blood-red thing hovering low in the sky, a full circle of color the likes of which he had only read f in legend. "Sam! Sarah! Get the hell out here!" he demanded in a hard voice. He hooked an arm around Chloe's waist and pulled her to him to try and keep her standing upright. He felt her trembling against him and swallowed hard.

"Well, I don't know a lot about the moon, but I know that can't be good," she tried to joke. 

Sam stepped out onto the porch, Sarah right behind him. He looked up, his eyes widening. "Oh shit."

"Holy hell," Sarah said aloud, mouth agape, and gripped Sam's hand tightly. "What is that?"

"The end of the world as we know it?" Dean deadpanned.

"It's a blood moon," he murmured. "Legend has it that it signals the impending apocalypse."

Sarah wanted to toss up her hands. "Well, geez, if the yellow-eyed demon wanted to end the world, why didn't he just say so?" Her words fell flat on her lips, and she stopped. Ill-timed humor was not the answer.

Dean turned to go back inside and tugged Chloe with him. He found Missouri standing in the living room, a pensive look on her face as she stared outside the front window at the events unfolding. "Missouri, is it starting?" he asked.

She turned to look at him, her eyes sad. "It is."

"How long we got?"

"72 hours, give or take a couple."

Sarah sucked in a terrified breath, having followed Sam into the room. "Three days?" she whispered. "I take it that's when the gate's going to open?"

"And all hell breaks loose," Chloe murmured, sitting down on the sofa.

Dean sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face. "So, what does this mean? The moon's red, for God's sakes. What's next, a plague of locusts?" He looked outside and noticed it had gotten darker the last couple minutes. "Great, and it's getting darker."

Sarah looked uncertainly at Sam. "Is this the three day darkness we read about?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." He drew in a breath and moved to stand by the window.

Sarah looked at the guys, then over at Chloe. What were they going to do? she wondered and unconsciously settled her hands across her stomach.

&&&&&

Chloe stared intently at the television screen, sandwiched between Dean and Sarah on the sofa. She grimaced as she watched the images flickering by--a huge volcano eruption in Hawaii, and another in Thailand. The news was doing split-screen coverage and she leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. The skies were pitch black even though it was 9 AM. Darkness had fallen and the reporters were chatting excitedly, wondering if and when it would lift. Maybe the sun had exploded, one theorized and she shook her head a little. "Idiots."

"There's a stronger word for that," Dean muttered under his breath and sucked in his breath when an update of the death toll was announced.

Sarah rolled her eyes and squeezed Sam's hand tightly. "Okay, they're hypothesizing that it's the end of the world. How obvious could they get?"

Sam gripped her hand tightly in return, staring at the TV. "They wouldn't be wrong," he murmured. 

Chloe grimaced a little, swallowing hard as the image flickered with static, then a new picture was on the screen. A riot in Los Angeles, another in New York, a third in London. Buildings and streets were on fire, people running rampant with baseball bats and golf clubs, ransacking what they could from stores.

"Trust people to take advantage of blackouts," Sarah muttered under her breath and looked down at her stomach. As if in agreement, she felt the baby kick gently against her ribs and smiled. "Glad you agree, little guy."

Dean bit back a smile at the mention of his soon-to-be nephew but kept his eyes glued to the television. "God, the things people do. It's insane." When he heard someone running by a camera shouting "It's the end of the world!" he snarked, "Yeah, time to put your aluminum cap on, ya dummy!"

Sam snorted involuntarily at his remark. "Dude, you watch too much TV."

"Hey, I like that movie," he protested. "Besides, gotta do something when you're into your research thing." He glanced at Chloe and smirked.

 _And I wasn't always around to do,_ she thought, returning his smirk.

Sarah couldn't suppress the bit of laughter that trickled from her lips. Dean looked over Sarah's head and playfully glared at her. "What?" she asked innocently. "It's true!"

"Doesn't mean you have to laugh about it," he retorted and slung an arm around Chloe. He kissed the side of her head and whispered, "That's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

She curled against him, resting a hand against his chest. "What's that?" she asked softly.

"You. Me. The bed in the back hall."

"Ugh, God, only you would talk about sex while the world's ending," Sarah complained loudly and leaned against Sam.

 _Seems like a good reason to talk about it,_ Sam thought with a hint of teasing, dropping a kiss to her forehead. 

Before either of the girls had a chance to respond, there was a loud sound against the roof. Like huge chunks of hail. Startled, Chloe pulled away and looked out the window, her eyes widening. "Oh my God."

Sarah was startled so badly she buried her head into Sam's chest for a moment. "Is that hail?" she whispered. Did hail make such thunderous noises when it hit the roof like that?

Dean got up, moved to the window, and pulled back a curtain. Large blobs of what he thought was hail fell like small meteors from the sky. "Looks like," he growled in anger, "and if one of them damages my car, that yellow-eyed bastard's going to pay for it."

"It's not hail," Chloe whispered and looked more closely outside. "It's...toads." 

"Toads?" Dean peered out into the darkness and was shocked to find that, instead of large, round chunks of frozen ice, there were thousands of toads hopping around on the ground. "What the...?" he whispered, clearly perplexed.

"Rain of toads." Sam pulled Sarah closer to him and drew in a breath. 

"They're here." Missouri suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Bobby and the others. They just reached the city lines."

Dean turned and looked at Missouri, a determined look on his face to hide his shock. "Good timing, too, especially with it friggin' raining toads outside."

"Thing's got a flair for the dramatic," Sarah murmured and looked up at Sam.

"Well maybe it'll take care of the damn mosquito population around here."

"And maybe it'll rain cats and dogs next to eat all the toads," Dean snarked.

Missouri smirked at him and disappeared into the kitchen. 

Chloe rose to her feet, slowly heading toward the porch.

"Whoa, whoa, where the hell do you think you're going?" Dean demanded and followed her.

"It's not every day a girl gets to see an actual rain of toads." She arched an eyebrow as she opened the door and stepped onto the porch.

Dean frowned and walked onto the porch with her. "Then I'm coming with you, just to make sure those suckers aren't damaging my other girl." He grabbed her hand and pulled her back against his chest.

She drew in a breath, watching more toads plop onto the ground and hop away in every direction, as if they were confused as to how they'd gotten there.

Resting his chin on top of her head, Dean pondered a moment the irony of the situation. It was the end; he knew that. The yellow-eyed demon would make his appearance at the stroke of midnight on Halloween, the one night both he and Sam had hated for such a long time. And with it would be the army of Lex's cloned freak people, fully ready and armed with demonic abilities to kill, maim, and otherwise destroy anything in their paths. He should be preparing: checking the guns, stockpiling rocksalt, making sure Chloe would remain safe.

And yet, all he wanted to do was hold Chloe and watch the strangeness of raining frogs. It would be something they'd tell their children one day.

The thought startled him, stunned him, and for a second, Dean tensed.

She felt him tense and glanced up at him. "You okay?"

He swallowed hard and for a second, wished his mental block had been down. So he wouldn't have to say anything. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I'm... yeah, couldn't be better."

She started to respond when a helicopter suddenly roared overhead. Startled, she moved forward a little, looking up, shaking her head when she saw the painted "Queen" on the side of it.

"Speaking of a drama queen," Dean joked and followed her gaze. He saw splotches of frog whiz by frantically as the helicopter blades sliced through the night air. The sound of frog chirping grew to a deafening pitch as he watched several ropes shoot out of the hovering chopper before dark figures slid down them. "Guess part of the cavalry's here," he muttered, eyes growing dark at Clark's bulky body hitting the ground.

She took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We're gonna need all the cavalry we can get." Her voice was quiet.

 _Yeah, but not until I take a piece out of Clark Kent's hide,_ he thought angrily. 

She drew in a breath, watching as the JLA guys approached. Bart raced up to the porch. "Dude. The weather here sucks. It's raining reptiles!"

"You're so observant," Oliver replied without looking at Bart. Instead he fixed his intense gaze on the couple who stood before them. "Chloe, Dean. I see the end is beginning."

"Yeah, and the ending's going to be even better," Dean commented and peeled his eyes away from Clark's uncertain gaze.

"There isn't going to be an ending," Chloe said, glancing up at him. 

"We hope," Bart grumbled, watching in fascination as the toads hopped around.

"Where are the others?" A.C. asked and shot a glance at Oliver. "This one's practically had an aneurysm over seeing Jo again."

"Shut up, Dolphin Boy, before I turn you into fish bait," Oliver growled.

Dean smirked. "They're on their way, so Blondie can rest at ease."

Chloe met Clark's eyes briefly, then glanced to the driveway as a large, old Mustang pulled in. "Speaking of Jo..."

Dean watched as one of Bobby's Mustang creaked into the driveway, carrying Ellen, Jo, and Ava. He wasn't sure whether to feel pleasure or dread at the thought of everyone being, for the moment, in the same tiny house. "They're here," he said and turned heel to go into the house for Sam and Sarah.

Oliver turned and grinned widely as he saw Jo leap out of the van and hightail it to the porch, where the rest of them stood.

She barely glanced at the others after spotting Ollie. Large smirk on her face, she raised her eyebrows. "Long time, no see, Stranger."

He took her hand and smiled down at the breathless look in her eyes. "Sorry I haven't called. Business and whatnot," he said softly, oblivious to all the snickering around them.

"Look at Lover Boy, in action again," Victor stated with a laugh.

"Okay, think you girls can continue this inside, where it's frogless?" Bobby complained loudly. 

"What's the matter, Bobby? Scared of some little toads?" Jo smirked and turned to look at him. 

Ellen shook her head a little, giving Oliver a warning look before heading into the house.

"Do you know what those things are capable of, given the right circumstances and spells?" he retorted and headed into the house.

"What, turning someone green?" Oliver said and winked at Jo.

"He's so dramatic." She stepped closer and pressed her lips against his without hesitation.

His hand cupped the back of her head and held her in place, their kiss deepening for a moment before he stepped away. "That's the kind of welcome I've been waiting for."

"Should I hope for the end of the world more often?" she teased.

"No. I just need to find better excuses to kiss you," he replied and brushed his lips against hers again for a moment.

"Woo! Go Queen," Bart said with a wide grin, watching.

Oliver pulled back and glared at Bart. "Don't call you Impulse for nothing," he grumbled and led Jo into the small house.

"Nice going, Bart," Clark said with a smirk. "You know you're on his list when we get back to Metropolis, right?" He glanced over at Chloe and tried to smile.

"He couldn't catch me if he wanted to." He grinned and winked at Chloe before heading into the house.

Clark watched Bart and Victor go inside, then looked down at Chloe. "So I'd ask how things are going, but that's pretty obvious, isn't it?" He nodded towards the house, towards Dean.

"Minus the whole impending apocalypse? Things are okay." Her voice was quiet.

"Sure, and Dean's not out for my blood," he grumbled and stepped into the doorway.

She watched him go, then turned to look at the driveway once more, realizing it had stopped raining. Not that that meant a damn thing. She drew in a breath, let it out slowly and stepped into the house, as well.

&&&&&

Dean hovered in the shadows by the window and watched Clark walk inside. The other man's tall, bulky frame dwarfed the room, though his awkward demeanor seemed more intentional than accidental. I'd love to get my hands on him, he thought. He didn't know if he could fight beside the man Chloe had loved for so long. The man who had fucked her and betrayed her on several levels. The one they called Superman. Nothing super about him, Dean wondered.

"Dean? What are you doing?" Chloe brushed her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom and into the small guest room they were sharing at Missouri's.

"Nothing," he grumbled and slouched against the wall, his hands crossed across his chest. He glanced around the overly crowded room and at Sam, who was trying to organize everyone. He smirked at how powerful his brother had become since he'd moved into his powers; there was nothing Sam couldn't do. Not even the room filled with superheroes could outwit Sam Winchester.

For a second, he wished he possessed something to bring Clark down a notch. She moved over to him and rested a hand on his arm. He sighed and looked down at her. His eyes burned with intense frustration.

She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his lips. He leaned into her kiss for a moment, then pulled back. "I don't want him here," he whispered.

Chloe lifted a hand to his cheek. "I know you don't."

Dean felt a curious set of eyes on him, so he turned to find Clark regarding them. He frowned and saw red. "Bastard," he muttered and strode towards the taller man.

Clark shifted his gaze to Dean once more, a little alarmed.

"We gotta talk," Dean stated flatly and headed towards the front door.

He drew in a breath then sighed softly, glancing briefly at Chloe, who shrugged. He slowly followed Dean onto the porch.

He waited on the porch, his hands fisted into tight balls. As soon as he heard heavy footsteps behind him, he swiveled around and clocked Clark across the cheek. Hard.

Clark was stunned as he hit the ground hard, vague nausea and dizziness washing over him. "What the..."

Smirking, Dean opened his right hand and revealed a small piece of kryptonite. "I really want to kick your ass, Clark," Dean said.

He made no move to get up, not feeling at all sure that that wasn't exactly what the man planned to do.

He leaned over and glared at Clark, watched a small trickle of blood ooze from his nose from his punch. "I should use this..." he indicated the small green stone "... to beat you into next week for everything you have ever done to Chloe. Every time you laid a hand on her. Every time you ignored her and let your idiocy overlook her."

He drew in a breath and shut his eyes. "You should."

Dean's fingers itched with the fury he had bottled up since the day he'd seen Clark hovering over Chloe, wrapped in an embrace he wanted to forever bleach from his mind. He wanted to take it out on him... but he found he didn't want to. He closed his fist and put it behind his back. "Stand up, asshole," he muttered and took a step back.

Clark slowly climbed to his feet once more, eyeing him warily and looking contrite.

"Look at you," Dean said and smirked with sarcasm. "You're supposed to be this great, wonderful, perfect guy who saves people. Did that clause exclude her? Did she ever mean anything to you other than your go to girl?"

He flinched and looked down at the porch. "I did wrong by Chloe. I can't deny that. But she's always been my best friend." His voice was quiet.

He took a step towards Clark and glared at him, hatred in his eyes. "She's worth more than your friendship. She always has, and it's pathetic that you can't see it. Trust me when I say, you won't get near her again." He glanced at the window and found Chloe looking out at them, worry in her eyes. "I'm not going to kick your ass," he continued without looking at the other man. "Because I know it would hurt her. And I'll never hurt her." Taking a step back, he grinned triumphantly. "But I'm not leaving without doing... this!"

Taking another swing with his right hand, Dean connected his fist with Clark's jaw and sent the man sprawling onto the porch.

He winced a little, shutting his eyes as he lay flat on his back, his jaw aching. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," he said over his shoulder and opened the door. "Thank her. She's the reason you're still talking."

Clark remained where he was, listening to the sound of Dean's retreating footsteps. Then he sighed softly as his jaw healed almost instantly. One thing was for sure: he knew how to screw things up. 

Dean maneuvered around the mass of bodies crushed inside Missouri's living room and moved behind Chloe. He wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks," he whispered into her ear and opened up his right hand.

A faint smile touched her lips. "I see you found the gift I left you." She kissed him softly.

"And I thought I was being sneaky in rummaging through your stuff earlier," he retorted with a wide grin.

Chloe grinned back at him, holding his gaze. Her hand cupped the back of his neck. "Think they'd miss us if we left?" she whispered.

"Hell no. Sam and Sarah have their hands full, and I don't want to talk with the others." He kissed her hard and grabbed her hard urgently. "Come on."

Not glancing back, she followed him toward the stairs.

Dean didn't waste time once they walked into their bedroom. As soon as she shut the door behind them, he turned and pressed her against the door and kissed her softly, deeply.

A soft sigh escaped her as she kissed him back, her hands sliding into his hair and urging him closer.

"Chloe," he whispered and ran his hands through her hair and played with the nape of her neck. Feeling her shiver with anticipation, he cupped her bottom and pulled her up the door so he could kiss her neck.

"Make love to me, Dean," she whispered, tilting her head back to give him easier access.

He wrapped his arms around her body and, his lips moving against her tender skin, carried her to the bed and laid her down onto her back carefully. He then moved over her and slipped his hands underneath her shirt to caress her skin while he plundered her mouth with his.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips.

He felt his heart swell as his body hardened with need. "I love you, too," he replied and felt the goosebumps rise from his deft fingers against her belly.

She shuddered beneath him, arching up against him, her heart pounding in her chest.

Dean slipped her shirt off her and then leaned away, shrugging his off as he did. His eyes were dark and intense, sweeping up and down her flushed body. "You're beautiful," he said, mesmerized by the wonder of her.

"So are you." Her voice was quiet as she gazed back up at him just as intently, reaching for him once more.

"You're just saying that because I turn you on," he bragged and cupped her breasts with his large hands and teased her nipples to taut peaks with his fingers.

She groaned, licking her lips. "You do," she admitted. "But you are beautiful."

He made a sound -- part chuckle, part groan -- when her thigh brushed against his hardness. "Too unmanly," he whispered and kissed the tender spots on her stomach, hands caressing her breasts. "You're beautiful. I'm hot."

This time she chuckled. "I meant in that...sexy Greek God way," she teased, moaning softly as his tongue swirled around her belly button.

"Greek God? I can live with that." He licked her skin and slid his hands down her sides towards the opening on her jeans.

She lifted her hips up so he could slide her jeans off a moment later, gasping a little at the sensation of the cool air against her bare skin.

Panties and jeans discarded, Dean stroked her thighs and kissed her skin slowly as he made his way to her inner heat. When his finger slipped inside, he felt her buck with desire. When his mouth replaced his finger to stoke her desire, he felt her moan and writhe against him.

She whimpered, her fingers clutching at his hair. "Please. Please," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.

He leaned away from her. "What?" he asked with a wicked teasing in his voice.

"You know what," she growled.

He slipped two fingers into her hot core and stroked her slowly. "No I don't," he whispered, a lazy grin on his face.

She groaned, letting her head flop back onto the pillow. "I'll keep that in mind when it's your turn."

Dean laughed. "Come for me, Chloe," he replied and replaced his fingers with his mouth. She tasted like honeyed heaven, more than he ever deserved, and there was no way he would ever let her go. Nothing would separate them, and he'd make damn sure of that.

Her fingers fisted the bedspread and she arched up against him, crying out his name and not caring if everyone downstairs heard her. Because she was with Dean and that was all that mattered.

He brought her to a quick climax and felt his heart hammer in his chest at the feel of her heat washing over him, into him. His lower body throbbed with desire, so he moved away from her and shed the rest of his clothes. Her taste lingered on his lips, and he savored the taste as he watched her reach for him.

"Now," she whispered, shuddering from the intensity of her climax. She needed him to be closer, in her arms, surrounding her.

He smirked and moved into her. "What, no please?" he asked and laughed when he found himself flat on his back.

She sank down onto him in a swift motion, groaning, and gazing at him intently.

He inhaled sharply as her body wrapped around his cock and stroked him with her movements. He grasped her hips and dug his fingers into her sides. His breath hitched in his throat as he watched her move above him.

She moved against him with urgency she'd never felt before, leaning down to kiss him.

"Chloe," he grunted and met her wet, sloppy kisses with his own. She didn't let up on her intensity, so when she came again, she cried out against his lips. His climax was hard upon hers, and together they rode out their mutual pleasure with a mingling of sighs and groans.

She shuddered against him, her whole body trembling. Feeling exhausted, she laid her head down against his chest, breathing heavily. "I love you so much, Dean."

Beads of sweat trickled down his brow. He wrapped his arms around Chloe and held her closely. He breathed heavily as the myriad of sensations subsided, though his heart beat so hard he thought it might burst. "Never letting you go," he whispered. "Never. You're mine. Going to be forever."

A soft smile graced her lips. At one time that thought would have frightened her to the core. Now the thought of being with him forever...was the best thing she could ever imagine. "I'm holding you to that."

He took a deep breath and brushed her pale hair away from her forehead. "Even if it means taking my last name?" he said out loud, startling himself even as he spoke the words. He hadn't thought they'd come out so quickly, so easily. He'd been thinking about it for awhile, but hadn't gotten up the nerve to say anything.

It took a moment for the words to sink in. Then she slowly lifted her head up to look at him, shock in her eyes.

Seeing the surprise in her eyes, Dean frowned and mentally berated himself. He'd managed to dig a hole that, for the first time in his life, he wasn't sure he could grapple out of. "Nothing, nevermind," he said quickly.

"Wait." She swallowed hard, still gazing at him intently, ripples of shock moving through her. "Do you mean that?"

"Do I look like I mean it?" he retorted and gazed at her. Intense hope and despair battled in his eyes.

Chloe felt the lump form in her throat and she leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. "Yes," she whispered.

For a moment, Dean was numb, so returning her kiss wasn't much of an option. It was his turn to be at a loss for words. But her lips gently nudged some feeling back into him and he pulled her back to look up at her. "Yes? Seriously? Really?"

"Don't I look like I mean it?" A smile tugged at her lips. 

He smirked and skirted her shoulders with his hands. "Guess I've taught you well," he murmured, his heart filled and complete for the first time in his life. "I'll take care of you, Chloe. I promise."

"No." She shook her head a little, gazing into his eyes. "We'll take care of each other."

Yes, they would, he realized and pulled her back onto his chest. Cradling her close to him, Dean allowed himself to realize his dreams of a family and love. Children. His brother and sister-in-law living next door so their kids could grow up together. After they beat back the forces of Hell. Despite that truly sobering thought, Dean smiled. Nothing would stop them from succeeding.

&&&&&

An hour later, Sarah sagged against the mattress on the large bed she and Sam shared in Missouri's other guestroom. Having been left to deal with all of Chloe's Justice League friends, Bobby, Ellen, Jo, and Ava, she and Sam had done the best they could. Sarah smiled and watched her handsome husband walk into the room and shut it behind him: he had done most of the work, actually. Getting everyone caught up had been easy to do, though Ava still seemed doubtful as to how she would help out in the coming battle. A little crash course in exorcism would alleviate that, she thought, though she didn't know how much time they had.

They'd all agreed to get some rest and meet back at Missouri's the following morning. Despite the perpetual darkness, daylight lurked out there somewhere, and keeping to a schedule was too important. Sarah saw the fatigue on Sam's brow and longed to ease it away. "All's quiet?" she asked.

"Everyone's gone but Dean and Chloe and Missouri," he confirmed, nodding a little, letting out a breath and gazing at her intently. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. A little hungry, but not enough to get anything from the kitchen." She grinned and held out her hand.

He raised an eyebrow and took her hand. "Mrs. Winchester." He smiled.

"Mr. Winchester."

His grin widened and he dipped his head and kissed her as he pulled her closer.

Scooting over to let him settle on the bed, Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, a warm sizzle of pleasure running down her spine that nearly curled her toes. "Sam," she whispered between kisses and curled her finger around his dark hair.

He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent and planting a soft kiss beneath her earlobe as he slowly laid her back on the bed. One of his hands lifted up to cup her cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb. "I love you."

Shifting onto her side, Sarah whispered, "I love you." Her gaze swept over his face, memorizing every feature -- the curve of his nose, the dimple that threatened to appear -- and committing them to her heart forever. She nuzzled into his touch as he joined her on the bed, lying next to her.

Sam pressed soft kisses against her forehead, her nose, her chin, then finally her lips once more. He took hold of her hand and slowly moved it to rest over his heart. "This is yours," he whispered. "Forever."

Tears pricked the back of her eyes as she curled her hand into his shirtfront and felt his heart beating quickly, an erratic beat that spoke of his arousal. She responded in kind, taking his hand and laying it on top of their unborn child. "We'll take care of it," she replied simply and kissed him again, responding to the pressure of his lips.

Sam rested his forehead against hers, letting his eyes drift shut as they kissed softly, sweetly.

Sarah lost herself in Sam's touch. There was nothing else to live for except this moment, this time. She counted herself way too blessed to think otherwise as she returned his increasingly heated kisses with intensity. One hand returned to thread through his hair while the other slipped beneath his shirt to tease his lower abdomen.

He groaned softly, murmuring her name and reaching up to undo the buttons on her blouse.

"Sam," she whispered, her heart hammering in her chest when he slipped her shirt off her shoulder and gently kissed her naked skin. Her nails skirted lightly across his flat, hard stomach.

He lowered his lips to her collarbone, kissing here there and licking the skin delicately before scooting further down the bed and trailing kisses down her breasts to her stomach.

She moaned and pushed her body into his caresses as best she could, given their child between them. When his hands cupped her bottom, she squealed lightly and wriggled against him. Her hands dug into his hair and silently begged him to continue.

He smiled as he pulled her pants down and then off, letting them fall to the floor.

Sarah bit her lip when he gently slipped his hand between her thighs to caress her wet, hot core. She groaned loudly when Sam's lips found one of her nipples and teased it as he teased other places on her flushed body. Her hips moved against his hand slowly, the pressure building inside her too quickly, the sudden surge of hormones making everything that much more sensitive.

He watched her intently as his fingers slid in and out of her slowly, teasing her even as his lips teased her breasts, first one, then the other. He knew she was getting close, could tell by the look in her eyes and the soft gasps escaping her. "That's it," he whispered.

Shutting her eyes, Sarah grasped onto his shoulders to steady herself as his fingers and mouth carried her over to a hard-hitting climax that left her seeing stars. She cried out his name and clamped down on his fingers as she came in a long wave of pleasure and need. She was breathless, a giant ball of sensation.

He smiled, his eyes darkening with desire. "You...are so incredibly beautiful."

She licked her lips and opened her eyes. They shone with unsated desire and need. "And it's totally your turn," she replied with a wicked grin. Kissing him hard, she pushed him onto his back. "Help me out of your clothes, gorgeous."

He chuckled at her sudden aggressiveness and complied, shucking his shirt off over his head and leaning up to kiss her, tangling a hand in her hair.

Her hands grabbed his face and she held him to her as they kissed deeply. She scooted closer to him, as close as she could get, and shivered with pleasure when his hands trailed fire down her back. Lips still moving against his, she fumbled with his belt.

He grinned against her lips, nibbling on her lower one lightly.

She pulled his belt off and undid his fly, her hands gently wrapping around his swollen cock.

He groaned, shutting his eyes tightly. "Sarah."

She smiled seductively and watched as varying shades of pleasure crossed his face. "Yes?" she asked innocently and stroked him lightly. Her thumb brushed against his tip.

He bucked against her hand, gritting his teeth. "That's...God..."

She grinned and pumped him a couple more times before letting go. "Help me," she whispered urgently and moved a leg over his lap.

Groaning again, he reached out and rested his hands on her hips, positioning her over him. "This okay?"

She pushed herself onto his shaft and nearly came again from the feel of him inside her. "Yes," she moaned and slid up and down slowly and deliberately.

He held his breath for a moment, keeping his body in check as she moved on him in a slow, torturous way. He lifted his hips to meet her halfway, enjoying the soft cry that escaped her.

Her hands pressed against his stomach, Sarah kept her movements as steady as possible, even though every fiber of her being cried out for release. So when he pushed her further, moving faster into her, she met his thrusts with a fever in her eyes.

He grunted her name, sitting up and wrapping his arms around her as they moved together, pressing his lips against her neck, her collarbone, her shoulder. Every place his mouth could find.

Her head thrown back in complete abandon, Sarah let Sam take her towards her peak again, like a freight train rushing through a dark tunnel for the light on the other side. She gripped his arms, his back, to steady her body. Their bodies strained closer together, and she found herself a slave to the sensations his thrusting created in her body. "Sam!" she cried out suddenly and clamped down on his body.

He cried out her name at the same time, nipping her shoulder lightly as he hit his own climax. "God," he whispered, keeping her pulled against him.

His lips on her shoulder sent her into more spasms as she felt him empty into her. Breathless, Sarah felt almost light-headed for a moment before she relaxed into his embrace, feeling boneless.

Sam smoothed his hands over her dark hair, murmuring words of love to her as he pressed his lips against her cheek and earlobe, sliding his hands down her back as he helped her come down from the moment.

"Sam," she whimpered urgently and smoothed her hands over his cheeks. His face, covered in a fine sheen of perspiration, finally looked peaceful. "That was... wow."

"It's always wow," he said softly, tucking some hair behind her ear.

She kissed him softly and smiled. "Yes, it is," she agreed and took his hand in hers and put it to her heart. "It beats for you. Always has."

He smiled softly at her, pulling her into a loving embrace.

Warm arms enveloped her, as did Sam's love. Snuggling against his chest, Sarah felt their baby kick gently against her ribcage, as if in encouragement. She laughed softly and pressed a kiss to Sam's collarbone. "Our son agrees."

He grinned, kissing her shoulder. "I can't wait to see him."

"I think he shares that wish," she replied and winced a little at the harder kicking she felt, almost as if the little guy already knew his father's voice. "What should we call him?" 

"What about...Jacob?" he asked softly, resting his hand on her belly.

She smiled and looked up at him, love and hope in her eyes. "I love Jacob," she replied and kissed him. "Jacob Winchester? I like the sound of that."

"Yeah?" He smiled and kissed her back softly, touching her cheek.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Okay, then, Jacob," she whispered to her stomach. "We can't wait to see you, little guy. We love you so much." She yawned a little and moved into Sam's warmth, feeling the love and warmth that drove away any dark thoughts.

"Come here," he whispered, pulling her closer and lying back with her in his arms. Stroking her back softly, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and let his eyes close. "Rest."

Sarah chuckled sleepily. "Your wish."

"Love you both," he whispered.

She felt the gentle kiss on her forehead and drifted into a blissful slumber. Love was all they needed. It would get them through the last step in this journey.

&&&&&

_Everything was dark, and cold and silent. Like the very earth itself had died, its entire population gone from the planet except for him._

_He stood in the middle of a cemetery alone, his heart beating heavily against his chest as he looked up at the blood moon above._

_Slowly, he looked around, eyebrows furrowing. "Dean? Sarah? Chloe?"_

_There was no answer and at the sound of footfall behind him he quickly turned around, stiffening as he saw the Yellow-Eyed Demon standing there, smirking. "What the hell have you done?"_

_"Howdy, Sam," the demon said and smirked a little. "It's so good to see you, too." It circled around Sam, never taking its eyes off him. "I couldn't wait until tomorrow. Just wanted to see how much I could shake you up tonight."_

_His eyes were dark and narrow. "Go ahead and try your best because tomorrow I'm sending your ass back to hell."_

_"Not before I take your child, that squirmy little red thing inside your wife's belly," it chuckled. "He's a pistol!"_

_It was all he could not to take a swing at the son of a bitch right then. But he knew it wouldn't do any good: it was just a bad dream. And if the demon was somehow actually appearing in his dream--he couldn't let on that Sarah and the baby were protected. "Over my dead body," he said darkly._

_"You got that right," it replied and winked at him, a knowing grin on its face. "Too bad your girl's gonna be joining you, too. Such a pretty family you would've made."_

_Sarah suddenly opened her eyes and looked around her. She had been dreaming about their son Jacob. She'd been holding him in her arms and he'd smiled at her, his tiny face lit up like Sam's when he looked at her. But the baby was gone, and instead she saw Sam standing with an older man... with yellow eyes. Starting, a little horrified, she remained glued to the spot._

_"You're awfully full of yourself," Sam snarled._

_The demon raised a hand in the air and looked over at Sarah. "It's not being full of myself," it said and gleefully gazed down at her pregnant belly. "It's about taking what is rightfully mine."_

_Wide-eyed and pale, Sarah covered her stomach protectively. "No, you can't have our son!" she yelled._

_"No? But it was made for me."_

_Sam quickly turned at the sound of Sarah's voice and moved to stand in front of her. "This is my family not yours," he whispered dangerously, his hands curling into fists._

_"Family? What do you know about family, Sammy?" it returned quickly. "You and your brother are deluding yourselves if you think your family's going to last. It's always belonged to me. Doesn't matter that your mother was a member of the Angel Brigade."_

_He shook his head. "It does matter," he snapped. "And you're not gonna win."_

_"Damn right about that."_

_He turned his head to see Chloe standing a few feet away, off to the left of Sarah. Blinking in surprise he met her gaze for a moment then turned back to the demon._

_"Sonofabitch!" Dean appeared behind Chloe, eyes glittering with irritation and hatred. "What the hell are we doing here?" He took a step towards the demon, fists clenched with rage._

_The Yellow-Eyed Demon cackled. "Dean, now be a good boy, will ya?" With a stern look, it pried Dean's fists open. "I'm having a chat with your brother. Won't take but a minute. Wanted you around to witness it."_

_"Witness what?" he hissed._

_"This... thing... thinks it's going to take our child," Sarah whispered quickly, her breathing ragged._

_"That's never going to happen," Chloe whispered, taking a step forward and glaring at the demon without a hint of fear._

_It shook its head. "You say that now, but don't we'll see who sings that tune tomorrow, shall we?"_

_"You'll be singing a tune," Dean replied with a hateful look. "It's called 'Ding Dong the Demon's Dead'."_

_The demon laughed. "Snarking in the face of danger. I love the smell of fear."_

_"You are pretty stinky," Chloe responded with a smirk. "But I'm not surprised that your own scents gets you off."_

_Sam kept his eyes locked on its face. "You're not gonna win."_

_"You wanna bet, Sammy?" He smirked back at him. "I've taken everyone away from you in the past. Your mom, pretty little Jess...your dad. And I'm gonna take them one by one and make you watch. They'll be begging to die."_

_"Not if I can help it," Dean growled._

_"And you," the demon replied. "You and your pathetic attempts to keep this family together? You'll be easy to take down."_

_"No," Sarah replied firmly and ignored the pain she felt course through Sam at the mention of the people he had lost because of the thing standing in front of them. "You're wrong. Sam's stronger than anyone I know, and Dean? The strength of his heart alone outweighs anything you can throw at us."_

_"Don't be so sure," he whispered, shifting his gaze to her face and smiling a sick, wicked smile. "I can throw a lot."_

_"Yeah, because threatening pregnant women is so brave," Dean snapped and looked at Sarah, concern on his face._

_"Touch a hair on her head, and I will kill you," Sam declared and moved back to shield Sarah from the demon's view._

_"I guess we'll see come tomorrow...who has more power. The psychic freak and his pathetic band of friends...or an army of demons," he whispered._

_"If you had to kidnap us in our dreams to try and scare us...I'm betting you're a little worried about who's going to win that battle." Chloe's tone was even and neutral._

_Shaking its head and turning keen yellow eyes on Chloe, it chuckled. "Why, when I thought I'd give you one last look at your family, Chloe. At what you almost had before you threw it all away in a sad display of power."_

_She simply raised an eyebrow. "I'm shaking in my stylish yet affordable boots."_

_Do you have to quote Buffy at a time like this? Dean thought and shot a look at her._

_She grinned involuntarily. Yes, she thought back._

_The demon looked at Dean, then at Chloe and Sarah, and finally at Sam. "See you soon," it whispered and snapped its fingers._

Dean bolted awake, his frame wrapped around Chloe's. "What the hell?" he grumbled sleepily.

She woke at the same time, her body tense. "Nothing like being mind-raped before an apocalypse."

Pulling her close, he rubbed his hand along her arm, trying to warm her up. She shook from the intensity of the dream. "That asshole's going to pay."

Chloe shifted against him, burying her face against his neck. She just hoped he was right.

&&&&&

"Okay, who are all these costumed dudes?" Ava mumbled to herself as she followed Jo and the guy she'd introduced as Oliver Queen into Missouri Moseley's house. The last several days had been hard on her, especially given that these same guys were the ones she'd seen in her vision.

Jo smirked a little. "What? Never met a few superheroes before?"

"Only on TV," she replied with a frown.

Somehow they all managed to fit into Missouri's tiny living room, where Ava felt the body heat rise to an all-time high. She saw the smirk on Jo's face and sighed. "Doesn't this bother you at all?"

"What?" Jo asked and shot a grin towards Oliver.

"Uh, fighting demons? The bloody moon in the sky thing? Men in really tight outfits?"

"I kinda like that part." She grinned.

Oliver laughed at Jo's remark. "You're only saying that because you like the color green," he smirked.

Clark rolled his eyes and looked at his comrades. "Guess he's gotta get a couple more flirty moments in before the impending death scenario."

"No one's dying today." Sam's voice was quiet and everyone looked over to where he stood in the corner of the room, arms folded across his chest.

Sarah smiled and watched as her husband filled the room with a powerful aura that nearly left her breathless.

Beside his brother, Dean crossed his arms and smirked. "No one except that damn demon."

Chloe gazed at them from where she sat beside Sarah on the couch, touching her friend's arm lightly. 

Sam took a step forward and looked around. "Whether we're ready or not...this is it."

Ava cringed and made a sound in the back of her throat.

"Uh, does that mean I won't get a meal in before hitting the road?" Bart called sheepishly.

Oliver gave him a look that told him to shut the hell up.

Sam didn't respond to the question. In fact, from Chloe's perspective it didn't seem to even register. "Like it or not, we're a team." He shifted his gaze around the room, looking at everyone in turn. "The fourteen of us. Against an army of demons. I'm sorry you have to be here. This isn't the life I wanted for myself. Or for my brother." He turned to look at Dean. "But we are who we are."

Dean shrugged and nodded his head solemnly. "We're hunters, even you guys with your bright, shiny-colored getups." He indicated to the Justice League.

Oliver smirked and looked across the room at Jo. 

"This battle ends today. This is all or nothing." Sam's voice was quiet, deadly serious. "We lose...and the whole planet goes to hell. We win...and maybe...maybe we can turn life around for all of us. For our families, for our friends..." He looked at Sarah. "For our children."

"But not all of us will come out of this," Ava pointed out. "I've seen the size of that thing's army. It's huge."

"You're underestimating the people in this room," Chloe said quietly, turning to meet her gaze.

"No I wasn't," she replied honestly. "I was really just referring to myself. I don't think I'll make it through this."

"Yes, you will," Jo insisted.

"You go into war with that mentality, then it's gonna happen," Bobby pointed out, his wise eyes focused on Ava.

"No one here's going to die. Not if I can help it." Clark's voice was quiet, but determined and he looked up in time to catch Chloe's gaze. 

She nodded very slightly in acknowledgement, then shifted her gaze to Dean. "We all have something worth living for."

Dean saw the look that passed between Chloe and Clark but ignored it. For her sake. Because his brother and sister in law aside, he had something to live for. Her. "Yes, we do," he agreed quietly.

She held his gaze for a long moment, soft smile touching her lips, eyes bright with determination. _We can do this._

 _We have to,_ he thought and shot her a heated look. _Gotta help me keep Sam's kid in check._

"If you two can focus," Sam whispered and rolled his eyes.

Dean fought the urge to smack his brother on the back of the head.

She grinned at Sarah, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. 

"We can make it through this if we work together." Sam looked around at everyone once more. 

"Damn straight," Bart said with a grin.

Sarah smiled at Chloe. "Please don't tell me one of them's going to make some crack about the Three Musketeers or something."

Victor grinned. "All for one and one for all?"

"I stand corrected," she replied and hid her face between her dark hair so she could laugh.

"Let's do this." Jo's voice was quiet and she rose to her feet, determination in her eyes.

Standing up, Oliver took Jo by the hand. "Yeah, I'm with the beautiful blonde," he said with a smirk. "Let's go kick some demon ass."

"Mighty anxious to get your butt kicked," A.C. pointed out but stood and stretched his arms above his head in a stretch.

"That's because he's got the girl already," Victor pointed out. "Makes him a little cocky."

Chloe rose to her feet, moving over to Dean without even looking at anyone else. Wordlessly she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly, winding her arms around his neck.

Her kiss surprised him momentarily, but he put his hands on her waist and pulled her to him as he deepened the kiss. He sensed a confidence in her that hadn't been there before, and he reveled in it.

Clark saw their shared moment and smiled a little, peaceful for once. He got to his feet and looked at the rest of the gang. "Probably that time," he said and headed for the door.

"Let's go save the world." Bart grinned and followed him out the door, everyone else following except Chloe, Dean, Sarah and Sam.

Standing, Sarah went to Sam and grasped his hand. "Nice St. Crispin's Day speech," she said and pulled his face to hers in a tender kiss.

He smiled softly against her lips, returning the soft kiss. "You know we're gonna make it through this, right?"

"Damn straight we are," she whispered and brushed her lips against his once more. "We’re not going to let that demon touch any of us."

Chloe slowly pulled away from Dean, taking his hand and turning to look at Sarah and Sam wordlessly.

Dean coughed and squeezed Chloe's hand. "You two wanna take it someplace else? We can fight this without you if you need that extra special moment."

Sarah moved away from Sam and glared at Dean. "Remind me to kick your ass after I have this baby," she snarked.

"Bring it on," he smirked.

Chloe shook her head and looked at Sam, who smiled in amusement. "Think they'll ever get along?" 

"About as likely as it is that I'll start dating Bart," she responded with a smirk.

"Hey!"

"We totally get along!"

"No way she's dating Bart!" Their voices rang out simultaneously.

Sam and Chloe both chuckled. "Come on. Let's get this done." Sam gazed at his brother.

"Waiting on you, little brother," Dean replied and, squeezing Chloe’s hand, led the way out the door and towards the Impala, where several other vehicles filled with passengers waited for them to hit the road.

 _We're gonna win this_ , he thought, straightening his shoulders as he took Sarah's hand. 

They had to.

&&&&&

Ellen looked around the relatively silent cemetery, seeing no signs of movement anywhere. The darkness seemed to enclose them, and the moon shone with a deep red hue that would have freaked most people out. For this little group, however, it was just a sign that the demon’s end was near. And as the clock approached midnight, they all knew it was coming for them.

"You sure this is the place?" Bart asked doubtfully, glancing at Sam and Dean.

Dean nodded but said nothing. He could already feel it, something emanating from the old abandoned church. Something old and evil, yet strangely familiar. He pointed towards the ruins. "It's gonna come from there," he whispered and cocked his sawed off.

"We should probably fan out a little, scout out the area," Oliver suggested.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Safety in numbers," Ava said nervously, glancing at him sideways and then looking at Bobby.

"She's right," Bobby agreed and looked at the tall, blonde man. He couldn't make heads nor tails of what the guy was wearing, but the commanding look in his eye spoke volumes. This man was a leader, and he wasn't used to taking orders. "We need to stick together in this."

"Agreed," Sam said with a slight nod, looking out over the cemetery. There was a faint rumbling beneath the ground. 

"Are there a lot of earthquakes in Kansas?" Jo asked uncertainly. 

"Not as many as there are apocalypses," Clark responded.

"And you'd know about that... because?" Jo prompted before she grabbed onto Oliver for support as the ground began to move beneath her feet roughly.

"What the hell?" Dean demanded.

"It's Hell," Ellen shouted over the rumble of thunder as a beam of light shot into the night, its source coming from the center of the church ruins. 

"Well, that's just fantastic," Bart grumbled, taking a step backwards and nearly falling over a tombstone. 

Clark grabbed his arm and hauled him back up, his eyes glued to the church ruins. 

"That can't be good," Chloe whispered, cocking her gun.

Sam strained his eyes and saw something inside the ray of blood red light. Shadows moved through it, as though demons were making their way out of the ground and into the world. The only problem was, they'd already taken human form. "Uh, guys?" he called. "The demons are already in Lex's human droids."

"Aw, great," Dean grumbled and watched as a handful of them crawled out from between the rubble towards them. They moved quickly, though he knew that really, they were just glorified zombies.

Chloe’s heart pounded in her chest as several approached them all at once and it suddenly occurred to her their crash course teachings in exorcism were going to be for nothing. There wouldn't be time to save the humans that the demons were trapped inside of. It was kill or be killed. Her hand trembled a little as she held the gun.

"Someone tell me there's a plan," Jo said with gritted teeth, keeping her shotgun aimed at the possessee that was approaching. When he leapt toward her, she fired and smirked as he fell back onto the ground hard, rock salt knocking the wind out of him.

"Not so much," Chloe mumbled, shooting the one approaching her with rocksalt as well. 

"There's a plan," Sam said quietly, lifting his chin. 

Dean cocked his gun and shot another one in the chest, sending it reeling down the slight incline towards Sarah, Victor, A.C. and Ava, who were gathered around a large Devil's Trap that he and Sam created in iron lines on a barren spot of cemetery ground. "That's the plan!" he yelled and cocked his gun, face hard with determination. 

"Nice," Bart said with a grin. Without warning he sped forward and knocked one of them down the hill and into the trap, smirking with satisfaction. "This end of the world stuff isn't so hard after all." 

"Now we're all doomed," Oliver said wryly.

"Easy for you to say, flyboy," Sam complained and mentally stopped a demon in the middle of knocking a punch in Ellen's direction. Within moments, he had lifted it off the ground and dropped it into the Devil's Trap, where the four of them were busily chanting Latin as quickly as they could.

"Oh come on. This is it? I thought this was going to be the battle to end all battles," Bart complained, watching as Bobby and Dean and Chloe sent more over the hill. 

Everything fell silent. Then the earth began to shake again, harder this time. 

"You just had to complain that it was too easy, didn't you?" Chloe grumbled.

"Remind me to smack that kid when all this is over," Dean grumbled and nearly fell over a demon that had stumbled towards him from the violently shaking earth.

Oliver, using his bow, shot another demon that has come at him with an arrow, the force of it knocking it down the hill and into the circle. He smirked and turned to see several dozen more emerge from the now growing blinding light. "Crap," he muttered and glanced sidelong at Jo, who had been knocked down by a demon but had managed to drag the thing down with her.

The air was still, but heavy with a dark sense of foreboding and Chloe could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she stood beside Dean on the hill overlooking the cemetery. Her stomach tightened with anxiety, the breath catching in her throat as she watched the gates of hell open before her.

Sam clutched the flask of holy water in his hand, sweat dripping down his forehead as he saw the unthinkable happening. He swallowed hard and glanced at his brother. His face was stony and set, as was Chloe’s. They were ready for this, and he was grateful Sarah was, for the moment, out of the way. Especially when the demon, with his catlike yellow eyes, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and set his gaze on him.

"Come on," Dean grumbled under his breath and felt the cool steel of the Colt on his back. It was their moment: they had Hell to contend with, but they would get through this. They had to.

Sam lifted his chin a little, staring hard at the Yellow Eyed Demon, his body tense and ready for a fight. He glanced to his left to see the members of the Justice League looking more than a tad horrified at what was happening.

"What the hell is that?" Bart whispered, clearly alarmed at the large group of what looked like people heading their way.

"Uh, that'd be Hell, apparently," Oliver replied, never taking his eyes off the humans who moved towards them. Humans with dead eyes. Lex's mutant army.

"We are so screwed," Chloe said inaudibly.

Jo nodded in agreement as she stood and saw with wide eyes the thing that had haunted the Winchesters' footsteps all their lives.

"So we meet again," the Yellow-Eyed Demon replied and set its intense gaze on Sam.

Sam's gaze was cold and even, staring back just as intently. "One last time."

"Take your best shot, hotshot," it cackled and held out its arms.

Oliver, never one to back down from a blatant dare, pulled back an arrow and let it fly. And when it dropped to the ground suddenly, without any warning or hitting the thing in front of them, he stilled momentarily surprised.

The demon looked at the arrow, then at the blonde who had tried to shoot him. "Nice try, Blondie, but no banana."

Without warning Oliver went flying back against a tree, hitting his head hard on the wood and groaning as he slid bonelessly to the ground. 

"Oliver!" Jo cried out, frightened. 

"You're next, little girl," he whispered, turning his golden eyes toward Jo.

"No!" Dean yelled and moved in front of Jo, just as he suddenly felt himself flying backwards, rather than her.

It took Chloe a moment to understand what was happening. _Sam! He has Lex's shield!_

Sam's eyes widened a little and he glanced at her sideways. _Oh shit._

The demon cackled, its yellow eyes sparking with awareness. "Yeah, nifty gift, isn't it?" he said aloud. “Kinda wish old Lex was around to witness his genius, but… oh well. Wasn’t like I needed him alive to grant my success.” He saw Dean try to get up and pushed him back to the ground with a motion of his hand. "Stay put," he said casually and eyed Sam. "You really, honestly thought you could defeat me?"

"Let him go," he whispered darkly, his eyes narrowing with hatred.

"No," it replied and smirked darkly, turning to look at Sarah, who had her back turned to the action, her focus entirely on exorcising the demons who were being put into the trap by the rest of their fighters. "You think that puny spell you cast is going to keep her away from me?"

Chloe's attention was drawn away from old Yellow Eyes, and she watched with horror as a group of at least 100 of Lex's mutant army headed right toward them. She backed up a step involuntarily, reloading her gun with more rock salt.

Grabbing a handful of mutants, Clark yanked them off their feet in a sudden swoop and rushed them into the growing circle of demons and bodies. Quickly, he supersped the lifeless bodies out of the circle to try to help with the cleanup, but the masses of mutant demons seemed to be coming from everywhere.

They were going to lose, she realized, shuddering involuntarily. 

"You're not gonna touch her," Sam warned darkly and refused to look at Sarah. One wrong move, and it could all be over in the blink of an eye.

"Oh yeah?" the demon demanded. "How are you going to stop me? You and what army?"

Dean struggled to get to his feet, but the invisible iron grip holding him kept him firmly planted on the ground. He saw the standoff between his brother and the demon, watched as he saw his friends, his Chloe, fighting for their lives and slowly losing. Despite the super speeding Bart and Clark, their capturing bodies and depositing them inside the devil's trap wasn't good enough, because it took time to exorcise a demon. Several at once was even harder, and despite their best efforts, Sarah, Victor, A.C., and Ava could not keep up. The sounds of howling and demonic screaming filled the air as the mutants tried to get out of the Trap. He swallowed hard and shot a single thought to his brother. _Do something, Sammy._

Sam knew they were in trouble, was just as aware of all the lower level demons slowly surrounding them as he faced off with their leader. His brother's voice in his head made him lift his chin, glaring at the demon who'd caused so much death and pain in his family even more intensely. "This army." 

Bobby aimed his shotgun at the demon. "Back away from Sam."

"Or what?" the demon sneered and looked at Bobby with contempt.

Ellen glowered at him, moving to stand at Bobby's side. "Or you're gonna land yourself in that pit with your friends," she said darkly.

Laughter bubbled up from the demon's throat, a low sadistic cackle that spoke volumes. "You humans," it said and glared at Sam, "so predictable. So stupid at a time like this. You're surrounded. All I have to do is give the word, and my army?" He indicated to the hoarde around them. "It's going to enjoy tearing you to pieces and watching your insides become your outsides."

"Not if we can help it," Oliver said, having shaken off his stupor. He stood next to Jo, arrow pointed at the demon.

"You can't," it said coldly. "I am Azazel, fallen one who rules below." 

Chloe stared at him wide-eyed.

Jo stared at the thing, her knees wobbly with shock.

"What?" Sam said and stared in shock.

He smirked. "What? You think you were just dealing with some lower level demon?" He took a step toward Sam, glaring at him fiercely. "I'm going to take everything from you." Lifting his hand a little, he motioned and three of the meteor-mutants attacked Chloe at once, taking her to the ground.

"NO!" Dean wailed from the ground as he watched Chloe struggle against the mutants who had attacked her. Though she had tossed in a couple of punches, they held her down and clamped hands over her nose and mouth, effectively closing off her air supply. "Chloe!!" He ripped his body around violently, the shock of what was happening so hard and massive that it weakened the force that held him down. He took advantage of the moment, getting onto his knees and crawling towards Chloe, his eyes red and murderous.

"That's enough," a voice from behind said in a calm voice. 

Every meteor-possessed demon froze, including the ones on Chloe. Sucking in a lungful of air as their hands left her face, she turned her head, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. "Mom," she whispered. 

"Walk into the devil's trap and stand still. Don't make any noise."

Dean watched, surprised, as the mutant-demons turned and walked in one large group towards the Devil's Trap. The group exorcising demons had stopped reading, and he saw Sarah turn around, gaze upon the creatures heading her way, and move as quickly as she could. The problem was, the yellow-eyed demon had already seen her and honed in on her. 

_Sammy, do something,_ he thought again and reached Chloe quickly. _Do some mind mojo on it and get that forcefield down._

Chloe grabbed Dean's hand and let him haul her off the ground once more. She picked her gun up and fired it at the demon, anger in her eyes. But the shots did nothing except make him laugh. 

Sam shut his eyes, focusing his mind until there was nothing there but silence. And then he imagined the forcefield exploding, shattering, falling away and leaving the demon defenseless.

Dean saw a shimmer surround the demon and then disappear. He leaned into Chloe and whispered, "Take another shot. I think Sammy's done it."

Lifting her chin, she pulled the trigger once more, watching with some amazement as he stumbled forward with the force of the rock salt. "Dean--"

But the Colt was already out, and Dean was pointing it at the demon's head. He squeezed the trigger and felt it vibrate with energy as the bullet shot forth from the gun and planted itself firmly inside the demon's human skull. It shuddered, eyes going dark and empty, as a couple shots of light spewed from the wound. Then the lifeless body crumpled to the ground and lay silent.

The demon was dead. 

The breath caught in Chloe's throat as she watched him fall to the ground hard and grow completely still. Then she slowly turned her eyes to look at Dean. 

Sam did the same, shock flickering over his features.

"Ding, dong, the demon's dead," Dean whispered with a silly grin on his face. He walked towards the body and kicked it a couple times, just to make sure it was dead.

"Dude, I think it's dead," Sam pointed out, relief beginning to register on his face.

"I know that," he protested with a shrug. "I just... wanted to make... sure." He emphasized his words with a few more kicks.

"Uh, guys, hate to burst your little happy time bubble," Bobby interrupted, "but we have a few hundred more demons trapped in mutant bodies. Wanna focus and help us out with that?"

A smile spread across Chloe's face as she looked from Bobby to Dean. "You did it."

"We did it," he corrected her and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him and planting a heated kiss of relief onto her lips.

She kissed him back, lifting a hand to his face, barely noticing as Sam took off and headed down the hill toward Sarah.

Frustrated and near tears, Sarah didn't move when Sam literally lifted her off her feet and held him to her with a gentle urgency. She stroked his cheeks, looked into his worried eyes, and smiled weakly. "Knew you could do it," she whispered and felt a rush of relief, the likes of which she had never encountered before.

"Not without you," he whispered, kissing her softly.

She kissed him back, relieved they were all alive, though momentarily worse for the wear.

"You guys think you can--?" Sam turned to look at the remainder of the group now circled around the devil's trap. 

"I think we can get it from here," Ellen said with a faint smile. 

"What do we do with the mutants once they're not possessed anymore?" Bart asked uncertainly.

Dean pulled away from Chloe and looked at Clark. "He's the super speedy one. Get him to dump them into the Atlantic Ocean or something."

"Either that or salt and burn the bodies," Sarah suggested and held onto Sam.

"What if they're not...you know...dead?" 

"They will be," Chloe said quietly, knowing the only reason she'd lived through the hell Meg had put her through when she was possessed was because of the strong bonds she had with Dean, Sarah, and Sam.

Oliver nodded and walked over to Chloe, his hand firmly in Jo's. "Chloe," he said, "I know I didn't tell you about Moira, but it's because I didn't want you to worry about her."

She met his gaze for a moment, nodding slightly and looking up at Dean. "Come with me," she whispered, tugging lightly on his hand and slowly walking back up the hill to where her mother stood silently. "Hi, Mom."

"Chloe." Moira Sullivan's smile lit up her entire face at the sight of her daughter. She hugged her tightly and then pulled back to look at Dean Winchester. "Dean."

"Mrs. Sullivan," he said and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Chloe's eyes watered. "Thank you," she whispered, not really knowing what else to say.

"Was the least I could do," she remarked gently. "After all, Ollie said it was the end of the world, and I don't think he was kidding."

"Yeah, we try not to joke about apocalypses. It's in bad taste." She chuckled softly, leaning into Dean.

"Says you," he whispered and kissed her forehead. "Sammy and me? Smile like you mean it, because tomorrow you might die."

"Always the optimist." She grinned up at him.

Moira gazed at Dean, an appreciative twinkle in her eyes. "Hopefully that has rubbed off on my daughter," she said.

Dean had the decency to look down at his shoes for a second and squeeze Chloe's hand. "More than likely, since I've asked her to... ya know... marry me."

Chloe looked up at her mother, her hand tightening around Dean's. "I said yes."

Tucking her daughter's chin into her hand, Moira chuckled softly. "I certainly hope so," she replied and looked at Dean. "He seems to be the kind of man who's worthy of you."

Her eyes sparkled at her mother's approval and wordlessly she wrapped her arms around her waist tightly. "Will you be there?" she whispered, trying not to hope for too much.

Moira moved to look at Oliver, who was at the moment engaged in some quiet debate with the slender blonde who was obviously Jo. "I think I can swing it," she replied thoughtfully. "Not everyday my only daughter gets married."

She smiled, tears shining in her eyes as she turned to look at Dean. Maybe they would get that happy ending after all.

&&&&&

**Four months later... Vancouver, British Columbia...**

Holding their newborn in her arms, Sarah had never been happier. Jacob Winchester looked so much like Sam, with the dark thatch of hair and the dimples in his cheeks. Though his eyes were blue, she had no doubt at all that they would turn a dark hazel.

The delivery hadn't been easy, but somehow they had all made it. And Sam had been there through it all, his constancy and love guiding her like a light. She gazed up at him, her eyes blurring with tears. "Jacob looks just like you," she said.

Sam smiled at her, his own eyes shiny with unshed tears. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I think he looks like you."

"How do you figure? He's a handsome guy just like his daddy."

He grinned. "Which means Dean will think Jacob looks like him."

"What can I say? It's the Winchester genes," came a confident voice from the doorway. Sarah looked over to see Dean and Chloe, hand in hand, standing there with large, toothy smiles.

"Yeah, because our son got all your genes, Dean," Sarah remarked and gave him a look.

Dean pulled Chloe close to him and they walked to the bed. "Hey, Sammy's not my little brother for nothin'," he remarked.

"He's beautiful," she whispered, gazing at the tiny bundle in her friend's arms, then lifting her eyes to meet Sarah's. "How ya feeling? You need anything?"

"Everything I need is now standing in this room," she said and smiled at Chloe. "Do you want to hold your nephew?"

A grin spread across her face. "Yes," she whispered without hesitation, leaning down so Sarah could shift Jacob into her arms. She pressed a feather light kiss against the baby's forehead, tears prickling at her eyes as he opened his mouth and yawned, looking up at her sleepily for a moment.

"I think he likes his aunt Chloe," Dean said and watched, heart full of wonder, at the quiet bonding moment. He looked over at Sam and wasn't sure his brother's feet were on the ground. "Dude, I think you did well... for once."

Sam grinned. "Yeah. We did." He reached down and took Sarah's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he watched Chloe with their son.

Dean moved close to Chloe and watched his nephew drift off to sleep in her arms. He draped an arm around her and dared to wonder what life would be like having kids around. Since the four of them practically lived together -- Sam and Sarah lived next door in the small town of Hope, British Columbia, the best place to have settled down until the Feds stopped looking for them -- he knew helping to raise his nephew would be fun. Not "watching your enemy fall dead at your feet" fun, but then again, hadn't Chloe shown him over the last year that fun was relative?

He felt her eyes on him and looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing," she said softly, faint smile on her lips.

"I can still read your mind if I wanted to."

"Just thinking."

"Uh oh, clear the room," Dean teased lightly. "I think her brain might explode with thought."

Sarah snorted. "Not our fault you give her way too much to think about, Winchester." She looked at the engagement ring on Chloe's left hand and gave Dean a knowing look. 

"What? We were waiting for the newest Winchester to arrive," he protested.

Chloe smiled. "You wanna hold him?" she asked softly, looking up at Dean.

He swallowed hard and looked at Sam, panic in his eyes for a second.

"Take a deep breath and relax," Sam said with a soft chuckle. "You've held babies before, Dean."

"You do realize that I was four at the time?" he replied with a laugh.

He shrugged. "Exactly. You carried me down a flight of steps and out the front door when you were four and your balance was much worse." He smirked.

"Thanks, dude, for the reminder to kick your a-- butt when you bring the baby home." He sucked in a nervous breath and held out his arms towards Chloe.

"Hey, you need the practice for when it's your own kid," he pointed out, watching Dean's eyes widen. 

"One thing at a time, dude," Dean whispered and concentrated on holding his nephew in his arms. Chloe positioned Jacob's head so it rested comfortably on the crook of Dean's arm. He watched as the baby yawned, his tiny mouth making an O. "Hey, Jake," he whispered and smiled as his nephew smiled a little.

"Daddy, I think Jacob likes Uncle Dean," Sarah whispered and looked up at Sam.

Sam smiled, eyes filled with pride. "No doubt about that." 

Chloe gazed at Dean intently as he held their nephew so gently, so carefully, like he might break and felt the breath catch in her throat at the sight. She swallowed hard, shifting her gaze to look at Sarah for a moment, her expression unreadable.

Sarah gave her a knowing look. _You know he'd make a great father,_ she thought and let their mental bond block everything else out for a moment.

A faint blush touched her cheeks and she nodded slightly in acknowledgement. _I've always known that._

Sarah smiled, a wide toothy grin. _So does this mean Jacob'll have a cousin to play with in the near future?_

Her eyes widened a little. _That's...I don't know._

Sam smirked and looked at his brother. "They're talking about us. You know that, right?"

Dean chuckled and looked over at his brother. "Dude, they're always talking about us. Didn't you know? When they get all quiet like?"

He grinned at his brother. "At least they say nice things...most of the time."

"Hey," Sarah protested with a quiet squeak, "we only say nice things about you." She squeezed Sam's hand, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

He winked at her and kissed the back of her hand before slowly sitting down on the edge of her bed and looking around at their family.

Still holding Jacob, Dean gazed at the small circle they made and realized they had all come full-circle. The journey had begun long ago, when their mother died, but Dad had done something for them that he could be grateful for: he taught them how to be men, how to care for others, and how to take care of their own. Silently, Dean thanked John for everything they had taught them. He knew wherever he was, he was smiling at them.

"So Chloe," Sarah said and glanced at Dean, deep in thought, "when are you two getting married? Make it official and all that?"

She shifted her gaze back to Dean once more. "Oh, uh..." 

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You guys have set a date right?"

Dean looked startled. "Hey, don't look at me. Between the grease monkey gig and hunting, I've been... busy."

"And I've been pretty busy with the paper," Chloe began, rubbing the back of her neck. In fact she'd been spending so much time working on the Vancouver Sun, she'd missed the last hunting trip with Dean entirely, which she was still upset with herself about. 

Sam gave both of them looks.

"Don't give me that look," Dean snapped, though he had a hard time looking at Sam.

"Don't make me remind you how Sam and I jumped on that marriage wagon," Sarah replied.

"Well, we're not you and Sam," she pointed out.

"No, you're not, but knowing you two, you'll dance around this issue until we're all old and gray."

Dean bit back a swearing retort, because the last thing he wanted to do was wake Jake. "Hey," he whispered instead. "We'll get around to it."

Sam shifted his gaze to his wife, sighing softly. "All right." He glanced at Chloe. Deep down he had a sneaking suspicion she was holding back on the marriage issue more than his brother was, but it wasn't his place to say anything. They'd have to work it out themselves.

Feeling a little more than guilty over not asking Chloe more about the marriage issue, Dean looked over at her uncertainly. He then reached down and gently gave little Jacob back to Sarah. "We need to talk," he whispered to Chloe when he'd straightened again.

Sarah took Jacob and cradled him closely, though she felt bad for berating them. "Look, guys, I'm really sorry..."

"Don't worry about it." Chloe smiled at her, tucking some hair behind her ear. "We'll be back."

Watching them leave the room, she looked up at Sam. "Think that was enough poking and prodding?" she said with a small grin.

"God I hope so."

Dean took a deep breath and shut the door behind him, turning Chloe around to face him. "So," he said and paused a moment. "Guess we gotta talk about... this." He held up her hand and fingered the small engagement ring on her finger.

She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah."

He watched her features close off from him, and that hurt more than he wanted to believe. Though the last few months had been a little rough for them -- getting into what he'd considered the most normal existence he had ever known -- he assumed Chloe had wanted to still marry him after everything they had been through. "Look, I know I haven't been around a lot."

She lifted a hand to touch his face. "Dean, don't. You know I love you more than anything in this world," she whispered.

"Then why aren't we doing that thing?" he asked and leaned into her touch. Wasn't that the next step? Isn't that what couples did when they were already living together and engaged? Didn't he have the job to match the rest of the package?

She leaned her forehead against his, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and letting her eyes drift shut. "I want you to make sure it's right for you." Her voice was barely audible. "Because we're already together in every way that matters and... I don't have to have a piece of paper to tell me that."

"But... I am ready, Chlo. And I want kids, just like Jacob." He sighed and pulled her close to him.

She buried her face against his chest, her arms winding around his waist. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He stood there and held her, oblivious to the rest of the world for a moment. He didn't see any reason why Chloe shouldn't be his wife, though he wondered if she would keep her last name. After all, her reputation as a journalist usually went with the name. "Hell, we've already got everything else," he muttered against the top of her head. "Might as well find out why Sam and Sarah are always so damn happy."

A smile tugged at her lips. "Actually...I like the name Chloe Winchester a whole damn lot."

"Got a nice ring to it," he said suggestively and tugged her closer.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," he replied. "Now give me a date so I can get over the whole penguin suit thing."

A short chuckle escaped her lips. "Christmas Eve." 

He pulled back and kissed her. "Sounds good to me. And maybe this time we can get a nice cabin out in the middle of nowhere to celebrate."

She grinned up at him, her eyes sparkling. "Cabin in the mountains," she whispered.

"With all the cool stuff... to build a fire... maybe see Bigfoot again..." He spoke between soft kisses that held more than a promise.

"You're assuming we'll go outside," she teased softly, returning the kisses.

"No more running away?"

"Who's running?"

"That's my girl." Dean grinned and took her hand. Life couldn't get more perfect, he thought as they walked back into Sam and Sarah's room: everyone had settled down, Sam and Sarah opting to pursue their interests -- law and antiques -- in lieu of hunting, even though Sam went with Dean on hunts for old times' sake. He and Chloe were together, and soon she'd belong to him for good.

Life felt like Miller Time: where was a beer when you needed one?


End file.
